HERE'S TO ALL THE GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

HERE'S TO ALL THE GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

Kenny AronoffGetting the Gig with John Cougar Mellencamp

Kenny began his career studying timpani with Vic Firth! Vic helped Kenny audition and eventually get accepted to the Tanglewood Music Festival.

Kenny then later auditioned for the Aspen school of music. Thinking he did not get accepted, Kenny already planned his summer accordingly. After realizing he had not checked his school mail box, Kenny was shocked to discover he was not only accepted but had to be there in two weeks!

While at Aspen, Kenny met George Gaber who was a professor of percussion at Indiana University. Kenny then decided to go and get his performance degree at Indiana.

While attending school in Bloomington, Indiana - Kenny gets the opportunity to audition for John Cougar Mellencamp. Kenny then decides to go back to his roots of playing drum set after being a classically trained musician!

Kenny auditions for the band and gets the gig! He then goes out to L.A. with John Mellencamp to record an album. After a short dispute with John, Kenny goes on to record the now infamous air-drum solo from 'Jack and Diane'!

Thanks for Sharing YOUR Game-Changing Moments!

Thank You for Sharing YOURGame-Changing Moments!

In celebration of Vic Firth Company's 50th anniversary, we've spent an entire year celebrating Game-Changing Moments in drumming -- including yours! To everyone who shared a story with us this year, thank you! Drumming is a shared experience and we are all brothers and sisters! Your stories have inspired us to continue making the best sticks possible and to continue changing the game for drummers everywhere.

Congratulations

We received thousands of amazing stories this year. Although it was difficult to choose only one story, we're happy to announce that Joe Russomano is our grand prize winner in the Game-Changing Moments contest!